Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem falling within the competence of the Government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem does not fall within our competence, we will forward your message to the competent institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia committed to creating inclusive society, protecting human rights

Belgrade, 10 December 2022

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said today that the fight for human rights never ends and that an example of their violation can be seen in Kosovo and Metohija, where Serbs are denied basic rights.

At an event marking the International Human Rights Day in the Serbian Parliament, Brnabic said that the issue of human rights is always current and important, and that the fight for them never ends, even in those countries that have reached the highest level of respect for them.

She emphasised that the celebration of the International Human Rights Day would not be complete without looking at the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, where she warned of the fact that in the 21st century, on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, in the heart of Europe, we are faced with the violation of basic human rights.

The Prime Minister pointed out that our people in Kosovo and Metohija, especially during 2022, were denied basic human rights – the right to vote, to participate in elections, the right to be represented by democratically elected representatives and the right to a dignified, safe and safe life.

According to her, the representatives of the Provisional Institutions in Pristina, headed by Albin Kurti, made Kosovo and Metohija the last ghetto on the European continent for Serbs and other non-Albanians.

And that is why today it is important for me to appeal from this place, once again, to all our partners in the international community not to turn their heads from the facts, to see what is clearly and obviously visible, and to show by action that they are fighting for the protection of rights and everyone's freedom, Brnabic said.

She pointed out that human rights should be constantly thought about, constantly questioned, always defended, and constantly talked about in this area.

The Prime Minister reminded that Serbia, as a member of the United Nations, is deeply committed to the fulfilment of all obligations, according to the ratified conventions, and that the principle of leaving no one behind is one of the basic principles of all our policies.

She noted that Serbia is the first UN member state to develop an Instrument for the implementation of the mentioned principle in all legal and strategic documents, reminding that in December, eight years of work of the Government Council for monitoring the implementation of UN human rights recommendations will be completed.

According to her, Serbia has two remaining tasks on the way to complete the system of international protection of human rights, and the goal is to fulfil them in 2023.

Those two tasks are the ratification of the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Prime Minister explained.

She reminded that we adopted the Law on Gender Equality and improved the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, which are in line with European Union law and international standards in the field of human rights.

According to her, we adopted the Strategy for prevention and protection against discrimination, the Strategy for gender equality, the Strategy for creating an encouraging environment for the development of civil society and the Strategy for the social inclusion of Roma men and women in Serbia.

She said that the government of Serbia remains committed to creating an inclusive society, a society that respects diversity, all minority groups and communities and the basic rights of every person.

These are values and principles that we all have to protect, but let's show together that for all of us, humanity and respect for the dignity and rights of every human being are values that we will defend and protect at all costs, the Prime Minister concluded.

Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue Tomislav Zigmanov assessed that human rights are a fragile creation and must be constantly improved.

He said that it is necessary to develop the culture of human rights and improve dialogue with different social groups.

The mentioned gathering was organised by the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, in cooperation with the United Nations Team and the OSCE Mission in Serbia and under the auspices of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.

The ceremony marking the International Human Rights Day was also attended by Permanent Coordinator of the UN in Serbia Françoise Jacob and Head of the OSCE Mission in Belgrade Jan Braathu.